“No,” he said. “I’m not disappointed at all. This series could have been 3-1 in either direction or 2-2. They played a little better. They got the job done and that’s all that matters … It’s a journey,” he said. “You jump on that plane and enjoy the ride. As long as that plane is in the air, you have a chance to do something. Last I checked, we haven’t made it to the All-Star break. We’ve been in tougher positions with much less time.”

And they have, at least narrowly speaking. I mean, the outlook for Philly looks dire because of where they are age/health/talent-wise, but Rollins is correct to note that the team has, during his many years in Philly, played poorly only to bounce back. And he’s also right that it’s a journey and the season is long. Nevertheless that hasn’t stopped some from jumping on Rollins for this bit of perspective:

This is insanity, of course. What would you have Rollins say? Even if an analyst can see that this Phillies team isn’t likely to turn into the ’08 version of the team again, it’s crazy to expect a player on that team to not believe it’s possible and, thus, have a bit of hope even when things look dire. If he said “yeah, you’re right, we’re toast” he’d get roasted from the other direction.

If a player says something crazy stupid, sure, I get it, it’s news. But when we’re sitting and parsing one version of a cliche because it wasn’t like the other cliches we tend to hear, we’re in loopy land.

Blash, 28, was acquired by the Yankees from the Padres back in December in the Chase Headley trade. In trading Blash to the Angels, the Yankees were able to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Brandon Drury, the infielder they acquired as part of a three-team trade with the Diamondbacks and Rays on Tuesday.

Over parts of two seasons in the majors, Blash has hit an underwhelming .200/.323/.336 in 279 plate appearances. He will try to play his way into a bench role for the Angels this spring.